HMS Moth (1915)

HMS "Moth" was a Insect class gunboat of the Royal Navy.

Construction

HMS "Moth" was laid down during the first half of 1915 at the yards of the Sunderland Shipbuilding Company, with her sister ship HMS "Mantis". "Moth" was launched on 9 October 1915 and completed on 5 January 1916.

Royal Navy service

She was dispatched to the Middle East (Mesopotamia area) in 1916. In 1919, she was dispatched to the White Sea, and by 1920 she had been reassigned to the China Station. In December 1941 she became a member of the Far East fleet with HMS "Cicala" at Hong Kong. On 8 December 1941, "Moth" and "Cicala" were in port during an air raid by the Japanese Army. "Cicala" was sunk on 21 December. "Moth" was in the dock for repairs, but with the fall of the city to the Japanese imminent, "Moth" was scuttled on 12 December. HMS "Thracian" was also in port and was captured by the Japanese Army. "Thracian" was placed on duty as "Patrol boat No.101" in October 1942.

Imperial Japanese Navy service

The Imperial Japanese Navy dispatched the nihongo|Navy 2nd Construction Department|海軍第二工作部|Kaigun Dai-2 Kōsaku-Bu to Hong Kong to investigate the "Moth", and on 1 July 1942, she was refloated and renamed nihongo|"Suma"|須磨. "Suma" is a Japanese beauty spot appearing in The Tale of Genji. The name "Suma" was also derived from her original name, (Moth -> Thmo -> Sumo -> Suma).

She was active on the Yangtze River delivering weapons. On 19 March 1945, she struck a naval mine at Anqing and sank.

References

*Colledge
*"cite web |url=http://rekigun.net/ |title=Rekishi Gunzō, History of Pacific War Vol.45 The truth of Imperial Japanese Vessels Histories", Gakken (Japan), May 2004, ISBN 4-05-603412-5